Mileage Recap ~ 7 – 13 January…A Snow Day Within a Furlough

Hello my sweet 11315miles readers! I’m blogging on a Monday because guess… am I furloughed or is it a DC snow day? Yeah, Just when you thought it was safe NOT to go back to work, we received a generous helping of snow and I’m not making this up, DC is shutdown. It’s a good thing too, because I think it would absolutely be disastrous driving on the freeway. Just not worth it for people or emergency responders. All I can say is when we finally do get back to work ~ trying to figure out our time cards will be a whole lot of fun. That’s a joke if you didn’t get my sarcasm.

My Dad called me the other day and was like, “so what are you doing with your time“. That is a loaded question Dad.

Week 1

The first week was all about lists. All the things I’m gonna get done. Hot damn! On a normal work week I wake up around 4:30 am and I’m out the door before or at 6:00 am to make the train. The first furlough day I slept until about 6:00 am. I was like dammmnnnnn, I need to get up and stop being so lazy! Then it slowly creeped to 7, then 7:30… hmmm. But I’m still getting some mad miles in and a mani/pedi every so often. The second week I was still looking at my list, then I made another list from the first list. Call it an improved list. I have watched all of the Good Girls season 1 on Netflix™ ~ I highly recommend it ~ dark but funny. I watched Bird Box…uh twice. Once by myself and the other with my friend. It’s always fun to watch a show the second time so I could really analyze and criticize what was actually happening. Oh I baked chocolate chip cookies and got kinda of sick from eating the dough. There might have been a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in there somewhere…

Week 2

I did get up a little earlier this week because I am trying to get my Virginia drivers license. I’m convinced when Danté wrote about the 9 Circles of Hell he had a premonition about a state agency that would be created in the future called the DMV. I believe that the DMV is clearly the 9th Circle of Hell, Treachery. The first time I went (yes, my friends there is more than one visit) I read the website and brought all the supporting documents. I was 3rd in line. Just to say that literally blows my mind right now. I mean what normal person is 3rd in line at the DMV? A furloughed person my friends a furloughed person. I hand my documents to the lady and she says “do you have a passport or birth certificate”. Uh…why yes I do, but not with me. The website says you only need that if you don’t have a valid drivers license in another state. She looks at me and says “I’m sorry, you need to have that too”. I mentioned that’s not what the website says as I eyed cop in the corner. I’m sure he had me pegged for a rabble-rouser. So I smiled took my documents and did what any furloughed individual would do and went to the gym.

I went back the next day for part deux, Saturday. You know what this means ~ people are off and they are going to Hel…oops I mean the DMV. I get there around 7:45 on Saturday morning, it’s 27 degrees and the line is already reaching down around the building. I take one look and I say to myself, hell no. I do a drive by towards the exit and the only thing was missing from this scene is me rolling down the window and yelling “I’m on furlough – I’ll come back on Monday”! Maybe do a doughnut in the parking lot and spill my Starbucks™ on the outside of my Subie for visual effect. Then I went to the gym. It was on my list.

Oh and I went to Chili’s Bar and Grill for Heavens sake – there might have been a margarita in there somewhere.

Week 3

That brings us to today, Monday, the snow day and week 3 of the furlough. Now you may ask yourself, hmmm the Federal Government is shut down because of the snow, does this mean the State run DMV is shut down as well? Well, it’s a crap shoot ya’ll it really is. (I just ended my sentence with a preposition). I was there this morning with about 3 other people. I sat in my car because the building was dark at around 7:50 am, not a good sign that anything will be happening anytime soon in Hell. Which is shocking because isn’t Hell always hopping? It’s like – “welcome to Hell – this place is LIT”! As the clock approached the witching hour of 8:00 am I sauntered to the front door and stood behind one guy holding his VA plates. He looked at me with sad, searching eyes then mouthed the words only our Creator could answer ~ “do you think they’re going to open”? I almost felt sorry for the guy. Heck I felt sorry for myself that I actually got out of my car instead of gunning it on the ice in the parking lot. I mean I’m such a glutton for punishment. I caught myself and in my most unassuming sarcastic voice I could muster – with a small smile, I mouthed the words “nooooo“. Then he raised his voice and yelled to the Gods – “this isn’t right”! With that I bid the gentleman good day, turned on my heel and nearly busted my rear on the ice. The 9th.Circle.Of.Hell. I got into my car and went to the gym.

Miles this week

One thing I can say, nothing beats miles on a furlough. I am in week two of my Shamrock Marathon training. I did a combination of treadmill and outdoor running this week. I was a little wimpy with the cold and did my long run of 7 miles on the treadmill. It was actually pretty nice because I concentrated on foot strike.

Proof 🙂

I also got my new running shoes ~ Saucony™ 10 Riders. Buying running shoes is funny now because just like cars, you can buy last years model. I can hear the sales person now, “well these are solid, but the 2019 s have stronger laces and are about .000000001 percent lighter – plus they come in purple”. Yeah, you know what give me the 2018 s that are half off. I scored 120$ shoes on sale for 50$ baby!

The next photos are from my walk out in the snow. I was able to log 3.06 that day. I love walking in the snow, winter is such a beautiful season.

This little guy or gal, let me get so close. Very interested in what I was doing and we had a chat!

Cardinal kept flying around I finally was able to snap a shot.

I love taking pictures of trees from this perspective.

This is such a fun tree. I love the carving that says Bill still loves Diane ’99.

A good place to offer gratitude and say a few Hail Mary’s.

Another walker was watching me writing this in the snow. I just let him wonder and was on my way.

I was able to get in 26.15 miles this week. I have 5142.66 miles remaining on my journey. I hope this post finds you in a great state of mind and with much gratitude. Happy Miles to You!!

I love the forest and the trees…I thought this was a fitting song by the Cure.

Sorry about the shut down and the snow. I’m in Boston so we kind of take snow in stride.
The DMV is crazy. My daughter went to get her license and they would not accept her US passport! Every government in the world will accept a US passport as ID, just not the Mass DMV!

Thank you. Well I finally got my license this morning only after they made me go back and get my passport because they wouldn’t accept my birth certificate. It is amazing at best. Even with a valid drivers license from another state. 9th circle baby!

Maybe they wouldn’t take the out of state license due to the new Real ID program? I renewed my license a few months before that program went into effect. Next year the TSA will only take Real ID driver’s licenses, so I’ll be back to the DMV or carting around my passport, which TSA will accept even though the Mass DMV won’t. Who makes up these crazy rules?
A notarized birth certificate is usually accepted. I think the Mass DMV will accept my 50 year old paper SSA card! Even I could forge one of those. LOL